Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9781569387214
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Miniseries, NTSC
ISBN: 1569387214
Label: Acorn Media
Manufacturer: Acorn Media
Number Of Items: 4
Publisher: Acorn Media
Release Date: September 21, 2004
Running Time: 533 minutes
Sales Rank: 33974
Studio: Acorn Media
Theatrical Release Date: January 10, 1971
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Description:
Based on Sir Winston Churchill’s biography of his ancestors, the first Duke and Duchess of Marlborough, this classic BBC miniseries is a tender love story played out amid the intrigues of the 17th-century English court.
At a time when most marriages were made for money and position, Sarah Jennings and John Churchill married for love. And their love lasted throughout their long lives spent at the epicenter of political power in England. He was a military genius who never lost a battle. She was the intimate friend of a princess who later became queen. This addictive drama follows them from their budding romance in the bawdy court of King Charles II through five decades and five monarchs from the tumultuous House of Stuart.
The popularity of The First Churchills helped establish Masterpiece Theatre as a venue for the best of British drama. Starring John Neville (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) as John Churchill with Susan Hampshire (Monarch of the Glen, The Pallisers) in an Emmy®-winning performance as the tempestuous Sarah.
Amazon.com:
PBS's Masterpiece Theatre began business in 1971 with the American premiere of an engrossing, 12-part BBC series, The First Churchills, inspired by Sir Winston Churchill's biographical writings about 17th-century ancestors John Churchill and Sarah Jennings. Besides being a painless way to learn a few things about the revolving-door monarchy of the House of Stuart, The First Churchills is written with a stately air though its story flows like a steady stream of fresh gossip. A viewer needn't feel guilty about being entertained by intrigues at the royal court while listening to screenwriter's Donald Wilson's elegant and uplifting dialogue, rich in civility and courtly asides.
John Neville (The Adventures of Baron Munchausen) and Susan Hampshire (lauded for her earlier performance in The Forsyte Saga, a British series that helped launch public television in America) play John and Sarah, who meet in the court of Charles II (James Villiers) and defy family and friends by marrying for love instead of family fortune. (Neither has any money.) John, a military officer who built much of Charles's army and never lost a battle, and Susan, an aide and confidante to the Duchess of York, are trusted figures in the king's circle. But as with everyone around them, they are jostled by political and religious forces following the death of Charles, including anti-Catholic sentiments that drive the king's stubborn successor, James II (John Westbrook), to Ireland and see the latter replaced on the throne by William, Prince of Orange (Alan Rowe), and his vindictive wife (and James's daughter), Mary (Lisa Daniely). With a European war raging and British soldiers and resources mishandled by amateurs, a restless John is sidelined and even briefly arrested due to royal paranoia; meanwhile, Sarah's close friendship to the future Queen Anne (Margaret Tyzack) yields numerous dramas on its own. The First Churchills is really about a tumultuous period in English history which saw strains between Parliament, the citizenry, and the monarchy come to a head, several times over. The story of John and Sarah's survival and deep regard for one another offers a perfect, reassuring line to follow through all the epochal raucousness. Neville and Hampshire bask in their characters' good-humored intimacy and level-headedness while madness whirls all around. --Tom Keogh
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
Ambitious series about early generations of Churchills. Drama spans from the time of King Charles II reign thru King James (his brother), King William of Orange (King James' eldest daughter's husband) to Queen Anne, Princess of Denmark (King James' younger daughter). We meet Sara and John who are the first Chruchill couple that marries out of love during brief courtship on the court of King Charles II. Both love each other deeply but are are driven by desire for success, wealth and political ambition. ... Read More
Rating:  -
TV like this you will rarely see nowadays. No great sets or special effects, just great acting with a ripping good story. What more can I say.
Rating: -
This miniseries, detailing the rise of the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the end of the House of Stuart, was the maiden broadcast of "Masterpiece Theatre"in the United States, and was to set a pattern for many great series to follow. As such series as "The Pallisers" and "I, Claudius" would do after it, the series is anchored by its title characters but really finds its greatest interest in those who surround them: here, a series of Stuart Kings, from Charles II to James II to William III and Mary II ... Read More
Rating: -
I have a feeling that this series creaked and clunked a bit even when it was first shown. The production values are on the cheap (most of the money seemingly went into wigs), and my experience with the marvelous original 'Forsyte Saga', which was filmed in black and white, bears out my hypothesis that 'cheap', shows itself worse in color than in b & w. In most cases the performances are excellent, especially Susan Hampshire who deservedly won an Emmy for this. John Neville is okay, the acting of James Villiers ... Read More
Rating: -
While watching the first scene of this mini series, I thought that everything that I'd read about The First Churchills was complete rubbish, and I felt inclined to stop watching it right then and there. But I didn't do so, and it wasn't long before my opinion of the series had changed completely--so much so that I watched all twelve episodes in just three days.
While the story centres on John Churchill, the 1st duke of Marlborough, one of the greatest military leaders in British history, and his politically ... Read More
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